There is a natural hierarchy and a silent negotiation going on, so that those with the stronger energy are able to set the rules and regulation for those with the weaker energy. The stronger dog only follows through—first with correction, last with a fight—if the other dog doesn't agree with or abide by the rules.
Cesar Millan, Melissa Jo Peltier
ONCE UPON A TIME, a very long time ago, a species of primates lived on this planet, which we will call, for lack of a better term, humans.
Humans were hunter-gatherers: people who lived in small groups, sharing the work of hunting game and gathering vegetation, and sharing food and the mutual protection of the group as well.
They were egalitarian by nature and by culture—in terms of wealth, of mutual respect, and of power.
They particularly refused to allow any one person to order another about, and had a variety of ways of enforcing this mutual freedom from coercion on any member of their group who attempted to boss another.
They had developed a very high level of social interaction, of technology suited to their lifestyle, and of art.
Facts are the enemy of truth.
Dale Wasserman
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truth (trooth) n. |
Truth (Trooth) n. |
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That which conforms to reality, and can be clearly verified by observation, measurement, or reasoning based on observation and measurement. |
That which conforms to the Reality approved by an Authority or a group, and can only be verified by the approval of the Authority or group in question. |
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Examples: "I own a phillips head screwdriver", "The moon is not made of green cheese", "I gained 10lb. last summer." |
Examples: "Santa brings gifts to good children", "The world is 6000 years old", "Cutting rich people's taxes creates jobs." |
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The truth can always be agreed upon by observers who take the time and effort to define their terms well and make their observations carefully. It may not, however, turn out to be what any of them expect, since reality can always surprise us. |
The Truth can never be agreed upon, since different Observers owe allegiance to different Authorities or groups, which approve of different Realities. It will generally, in each individual case, however, turn out to be pretty much what was expected. |
I could dance with you until the cows come home. On second thought I'd rather dance with the cows until you come home.
Groucho Marx
IT'S BEEN SOME TIME SINCE I last added a post to this series, so I'll begin with a very brief review for those of you who haven't been following it from the beginning.
There's a general agreement on all sides that the world is currently a dangerous place for humans—as individuals, as groups, and even as a species—and that most of this danger comes from humans themselves.
Whether we think of the danger specifically as nuclear war, socialism, global warming, or fascism—whether we believe the source is liberals or conservatives, religion or atheism, intellectuals or rednecks, latte lovers or beer-drinkers, we agree that the problem has to do with how we humans are managing our affairs.
No one blames the cows, on the whole.
We are all looking for a way out of the mess, whether we think of the mess as global, local, or personal.
But government in which the majority rule in all cases cannot be based on justice, even as far as men understand it.
Henry David Thoreau
SO BOEHNER'S TEARS are treated as genuine emotion by liberals, just as they treated Republican concerns with respect and compromise in Congress when Democrats had all the power.
And now that Republicans have been given a second chance Boehner is already saying that he has a mandate from the American people to refuse to compromise with Democrats.
Let's look at his belief through the lens of a reality bias:
Each incoming president has the above seal branded on his upper right shoulder upon taking office. It is said that those who cry during the branding are fated to be one-termers.
Jon Stewart, The Writers of The Daily Show
LATE TUESDAY NIGHT I was watching John Boehner give his victory speech on MSNBC, that bastion of evil, nasty, socialist commentators, and I was struck by two related contrasts in the small drama that was played out in a few brief minutes.
Boehner ended his speech choked up with tears.
I don't really know what reaction I expected to that on the part of the MSNBC crowd.
There were many possibilities.
We can all imagine what the response would have been on Fox, if a Democrat had cried in front of the cameras.
Oh—wait. We don't have to imagine.
